SHAME! Ministry Runs Out Of Water On Bayelsa Hand-washing Day

Students gathered around a teach with a bottle water to finish the Hand washing process.

Bayelsa State is a coastal state, but on the day it marked its Global Handwashing Day, there was no water for people to wash their hands with.

Bayelsa State is a coastal state and this means there is an abundance of water in the soil and region, but there was no reflection of that on Wednesday, December 12th.

The state had shifted the commemoration of the Global Hand-washing Day from October 15 to December 12th as a result of the flood that ravaged communities in the state.

But on the new date, however, it appeared the state was still not prepared for the event.

The Global Hand-washing Day was organised by the Bayelsa State Ministry of Water Resources and it started with a road walk that had primary school students from different schools in the state, their teachers and staff of the ministry in participation.

The walk commenced from the ministry's office located at Okaka, through Tombia and then back to the commencement ground in Okaka, Yenagoa

They sensitised the public on the importance of hand washing as they walked the streets, even as officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps were on ground to ensure free traffic flow.

The children handed out flyers to residents and encouraged them to always wash their hands before and after meals, after changing baby diapers, after using the toilet and after playing.

At Ekeki motor park, some transporters joined in the walk and the number of persons that would eventually involve in the hand washing process continued to grow.

During his speech, the state Commissioner of Water Resources, Mr Tubonah Talbot, reminded the gathering that the world would be an unhygienic place to live without proper sanitation of the environment.

"The flood hindered us from observing this day in October 15, as declared by United Nations (UN)," he said.

After his speech, he demonstrated the hand washing process and advised everyone to maintain the hand washing culture and also educate their peers.

One would have expected to see a tanker of water, being a coastal state, but that was not the case.